Ebola
by Screamstriker
Summary: Ratchet and Jolt are sent to West Africa to help fight Ebola.
1. Mission Accepted

Disclaimer: I don't own Tranformers. This story is dedicated to my teacher.

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><p>Ratchet was lingering around in his office with nothing to do. He was almost jealous of those youngsters, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Bumblebee, Skids, Mudflap, etc. Even running around gettingt hurt had to be better than just sitting here, right?<p>

Sideswipe burst into the room, disturbing Ratchet's thoughts.

"Hey Hatchet," he called.

"Sideswipe? And the designation's Ratchet, not Hatchet." Ratchet was about to ask what had happened THIS time when he received a comm call.

::Ratchet, Jolt, come meet me in my office:: sent Optimus.

::Right away.: Ratchet replied before dashing past Sideswipe and out the door, eager for something to do. He didn't even stop upon seeing Sunstreaker, who had one arm bent in an awkward manner.

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><p>"Hello, Ratchet," Optimus greeted him.<p>

Ratchet greeted him back. "You won't believe how bored I've been."

"I probably won't. Come in."

Jolt appeared a few seconds later and walked into the room with Ratchet.

"As you already know, there is an epidemic in West Africa," Optimus began. The two medics nodded.

"They are lacking health care workers with enough experience..."

Ratchet began to get an idea of where this conversation was heading.

"...so we were wondering, if you two like to head to Liberia to help control the virus."

Jolt looked up at Ratchet, who looked straight back at him.

"I know it's a big ask," Optimus stated. "And it's okay if you don't want to go. We won't blame you."

"Is there any chance..." Jolt began.

"Of you catching the disease? Well, yes, there is, but there's an eighty-eight point five percent chance that ebola cannot spread to Cybertronians. That still leaves..."

"Eleven point five percent," Ratchet finished for him.

"Precisely."

Ratchet considered his options. He could stay put on the Ark and leave the disease management to the humans, or he could go to Liberia and help save thousands of lives, while putting himself and therefore the other Autobots, as he was their medic, at risk. Well...

"I'll go," Jolt announced.

Both Jolt and Optimus now turned to stare at Ratchet, waiting for an answer.

"If I go, the rest of the Autobots won't have a medic," said Ratchet.

"We'll manage. You won't believe how many of us have basic medical skills."

"Hmmph," hmmphed Ratchet.

"You don't have to go," Optimus reassured him. Then he opened a comm link so that they could speak privately.

::Ratchet::

::Yes Optimus::

::Is there anything you'd like to say::

Ratchet didn't reply.

::Ratchet, are you scared?::

::Yes:: replied Ratchet after a few seconds.

::Ratchet, I know that's not the real reason. Come on, tell me. It's okay::

::What if Jolt catches the virus? Or if one of the others gets injured severely? I want to go, Optimus! But I don't know::

Optimus paused for a while. "Jolt? Could you please leave for a moment, so-"

"Yessir!" Jolt bolted out the door.

Ratchet offlined his optics as he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you alright, Ratchet?"

Ratchet shook his head. "I just...can't...Optimus, I can't just let Jolt go to some distant virus-infected place all on his own! But the Autobots need me here! I'm stuck! Totally STUCK!"

Ratchet practically screamed the last stuck, so that Jolt could probably hear it from outside.

"Ratchet, just think about it this way. If you go to-"

Optimus was cut off by Ratchet, who whispered, barely audibly, "Yes.

I will go."


	2. Mission Departed

I don't own them. I also don't own Wish Me Luck As You Wave Me Goodbye.

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><p>"Wow, I can't believe we're actually leaving!" exclaimed Jolt as he walked down the corridor beside Ratchet.<p>

"Jolt, this is a serious-"

"I know. You already told me one, two, three..." Jolt counted on his fingers, then Ratchet's fingers, then ran out of fingers.

"Hmmph," hmmphed Ratchet.

They exited the Ark into the bright morning sunshine. The other Autobots were already gathered there, ready to say goodbye.

Bumblebee was warbling sadly, tears forming in his eyes. Wheeljack was also crying, along with a few of the others. One of the Autobots(ie. Bluestreak) was babbling away. Most were silent, including Arcee, all three sets of twins and Optimus Prime.

_He always seems calm,_ thought Ratchet. _How does he do that?_

"Wish me luck as you wave me goodbye!" Jolt sang cheerfully. He stopped, however, upon seeing how serious Ratchet was.

Optimus stepped forwards.

"Are you two okay?" he asked.

_I feel like I'm going to explode_, said Ratchet mentally. On the outside, he nodded and murmured a 'yes'.

Prime turned to the other Autobots. "Any last-minute goodbyes?"

Wheeljack rushed forwards and pulled Ratchet into a crushing hug, his head fins flashing a serene blue.

"I love you too," Ratchet said with a slight smile. "Now-"

Ratchet found his words smothered by a passionate kiss form Wheeljack. He had no choice but to kiss him back, perfectly aware that there were twenty Autobots watching.

Ratchet pulled away twenty seconds later to find Jolt's cheerful face grinning at him. His cooling jets switched on at their highest level.

Wheeljack turned to face Jolt.

"Jolt," he greeted.

"Hi Wheeljack," the blue and black medic replied.

"Jolt, can you promise me something?"

Jolt shrugged. "That depends on what you want me to promise."

Wheeljack nodded. "Promise me that you'll keep Ratchet safe."

"I don't need-" Ratchet blurted out, but caught his tongue upon sensing that Wheeljack was deadly serious.

"I can't guarantee it..." Jolt's voice wavered. "But I'll try my best!"

Wheeljack nodded thankfully, kissed Ratchet again and ran back to join the other Autobots.

Bumblebee walked up and handed Jolt a small parcel. Then he warbled his goodbye and took his place beside Arcee.

Jolt stored his present in subspace.

_I wonder what's in that parcel?_ Ratchet shook his head. _It's best not to get curious._

Ratchet and Jolt got ready to take off.

"Goodbye, Optimus, Ironhide, Jazz and the rest of you. Hopefully, I will see you soon!" Ratchet called in farewell.

"Actually, not the twins..." he added under his breath.

"Bye Jolt!" chorused Skids, Mudflap, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker as the medics' feet lifted off the ground.

"Happy..."

Ratchet couldn't hear the rest of their farewell.


	3. Mission Destination Reached

Disclaimer: I do not own the Transformers. Oh, and I'm trying to make you cry with this fic, so leave a review if I succeed! (If I don't, leave one anyway.) I'm not one to do much research, so I'm just going to make some things up. The town of Morior, for example.

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><p>Jolt loved flying. He had never noticed it before; but again, he'd never had the opportunity to whizz around in such a lovely, clear sky before. And as far as he was concerned, Jolt plus clear sky plus flying equals time to have fun and annoy the inner circuits out of Ratchet.<p>

"Hey Ratchet?" he called.

No response.

Jolt shrugged it off and started playing music to see if that would get him a response.

It didn't.

Well...when all methods fail, try a new one.

::Jolt, stop flying in circles around me. Also, we're nearly there::

Soon, Ratchet and Jolt touched down near the Ebola refuge camp in Morior, Liberia.

Jolt took in the scene. There was about as much dirt here as there was metal on Cybertron. Large blue tents were pitched in rough rows-some medical, some for living in and some for supplies.

There weren't many humans out, as far as Jolt could see. Just a few workers and locals. As the duo advanced towardss the Admin Building where they would be greeted and shown to their living area, a particular human caught Jolt's optics.

A skinny, dark-skinned woman stood just off the road, carrying a small bundle. She wore nothing but a thin white dress, and even the dress was slashed and torn. The woman was crying as she rocked her baby.

Unsure what to do, Jolt headed towards the woman. She didn't notice him until he was five metres away.

"Hello," greeted Jolt.

The woman screamed, terrified at being so close to something so huge. She dropped her baby and ran away.

Jolt called out to her that he meant no harm, but the woman had already disappeared into a tent.

Ratchet approached Jolt and placed a servo on his apprentice's shoulder. Jolt turned to face the older bot.

"I'm sorry, sir," he began. "I didn't know, I-"

His babble was interrupted by a high-pitched, piercing wail.

Both medics spun to look at the source of the noise, which happened to be the little baby that had just been abandoned. Neither dared to touch it; it looked so tiny and fragile that a small puff of wind would shatter it.

The baby screamed again and kicked its legs. Then it was still.

Ratchet moved closer and crouched to examine the baby.

"It's Ebola," he announced to Jolt, who didn't dare talk.

Ratchet stood up again and they continued their journey.

"Jolt," he addressed his apprentice.

Jolt snapped to attention, nervousness in his optics.

"As you already know, this is a serious mission," he said, slowly and clearly. "I know you are already trying your best to follow the rules. Your spark is in the right place, Jolt, you just need to think before you act. Got it?"

Jolt nodded, hanging his helm.

Ratchet's servo appeared on his shoulder again.

"It's okay, Jolt," the medic soothed. "You just need to be more careful."

They were passing through the rows of tents now. There was one main road, cutting through straight to the Admin Building. Ratchet and Jolt took the main road, as it was already getting dark. They could explore some more tomorrow.

Soon the pair arrived at their destination. The first to greet them weren't the officials, however.

A small Liberian boy approached the, carefully but confidently. He didn't seem afraid at all as he stopped in front of Jolt and stared up with big brown eyes.

"Hello, what are you doing here?" asked Jolt.

The child didn't babble; he cut straight to the point.

"My name is Togar," he replied. "My mother and big sister are now watching me from heaven because of ebola."

Jolt winced internally. Less than half an hour in Liberia, and he was already hearing horror stories.

"Where's your father?"

"My father is working. He must work very hard to keep me and him alive."

Togar said this very seriously. Tears were gathering at the rims of his eyes, threatening to fall and leave streaks on his dirt-covered face.

"How can I help you?" Jolt asked kindly.

"You can't help me. All I want now is for everyone else to be safe," said Togar.

From behind Jolt, Ratchet's optics were clouding up.

"I don't want anyone else to have to go through what I have been through. I know you can help."

Jolt nodded. "I promise I will try my best to make this world a better place."

Togar let his tears stream down his face. "Thank you."

Then he turned and ran away to one of the blue tents.

Two humans, a man and a woman, exited the Admin Building and headed towards the two medics. Ratchet quickly wiped his optics and the humans drew closer.

"Hello," greeted the woman. "I'm Kate McGregor, and this is Arthur Harrington. We're health workers from Australia."

"I take it you are Ratchet," Arthur smiled, gesturing at Jolt. "And you are?"

"Ratchet," said Ratchet flatly.

"And I'm Jolt!" piped up Jolt.

Arthur looked taken aback for a few seconds, before regaining his confidence.

"Anyways, welcome to Liberia!"

"We look forwards to working with you," added Kate. "And we hope that you will make a huge difference in eradicating Ebola forever."

Ratchet nodded sincerely, and Jolt copied.

"We're going to show you to your living area now," announced Arthur.

The humans led the Autobots to a ridiculously large tent. Or rather, what would be a ridiculously large tent once it was set up.

Jolt gawked at the tent-to-be.

"How did you manage to find a tent this big?" he asked incredulously.

Kate shrugged.

"You'll have to put it together yourselves."

So the humans said their goodbyes and headed back to the Admin Building, leaving Ratchet and a rather amused Jolt to figure out how to set the tent up.

An hour later, they were finished.

Jolt gazed at the sun setting over the horizon.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" he remarked.

Ratchet just grunted and turned in for the night.

Somewhat disconcerted, Jolt followed.

"Ratchet?" he called, as he settled on the ground.

"Hmmwhat?" came Ratchet's muffled response.

"Why did Togar stop in front of me instead of you?"

The red and white medic shrugged.

"Maybe he sensed you were young. Maybe he likes blue. Who knows? Now if you don't mind, I'm trying to recharge."

"Okay."

"Shut up."

"Yessir!'

"Shut up."

"Okay-oops."

"Shut up."

Jolt grinned and soon drifted off into recharge.

Ratchet, however, lay awake. Just how much trouble exactly had he gotten himself and the Autobots into? What if one of the Autobots were seriously injured? What if Ebola could be transmitted to Cybertronians? What if-

::Hey, Doc:: came a cheery voice.

::I don't want to talk, Wheeljack::

::No response to nickname, huh? Well you must be worried. Nevermind, I feel the same::

Wheeljack sent Ratchet a loving spark pulse. The medic returned the gesture, basking in his bondmate's warmth.

He let Wheeljack's presence embrace him, and soon Ratchet joined his apprentice in recharge.


	4. Mission Started

Disclaimer: I do not own the Transformers. Two weeks ago, I saw a guy walking around in a Starscream shirt saying 'Traitor'. That made my day!

Just to say- in this story, Ratchet is G1, Jolt is ROTF, Optimus is Prime(no pun intended), Wheeljack is Prime, Arcee is Prime and everyone else is G1 except Skids and Mudflap.

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><p>Ratchet and Jolt's mission began the very next day. They headed over to the Admin building, where Arthur and Kate were waiting in their protection suits.<p>

"Good morning," smiled Kate.

The two medics chorused their greetings.

Arthur and Kate showed them around for most of the morning. It was a casual tour, made somewhat amusing by the fact that Arthur kept getting the two Autobots mixed up.

The mood was sobered, however, by the many sick patients in the tents or on the ground. It was also a little down-putting that every human that saw them ran away.

"Liberia is a developing country," Ratchet explained to Jolt. "The locals aren't used to seeing us Cybertronians around. They're scared of us, so we'll have to help them quite a bit to gain their trust."

After a short break for the humans, Ratchet and Jolt set to work treating the patients and disinfecting the tents.

They did that for pretty much the whole day, except for a break in the middle of the day when they fetched some energon from the nearest deposit, which was conveniently close to the camp. Jolt was sitting on a rock, sipping a cube of it when a woman resembling the one he'd met and frightened the day before staggered up to him.

It was clear that she was infected with Ebola by the many bruises on her body and the blood leaking out of some of her facial orifices.

"Hello," called Jolt.

The woman looked up at him and collapsed.

Jolt abandoned his cube of energon. There wasn't much chance this woman would survive, but he wanted to help her to the best of his

He picked her up, injected her with a painkiller and carried her to the nearest medical tent, where the human doctors and nurses set to work. Jolt observed their work for a minute before exiting the tent to disinfect the area where he'd been sitting.

Meanwhile, Ratchet was helping a human doctor by the name of Rita Coswell work on an infected boy.

"Bother!" cursed Rita as her patient gasped for breath. "We're losing him!"

As she worked, more strings of curses flooded out her mouth.

Ratchet dully realised that this was probably how he sounded when he worked to save a critically wounded comrade.

Scowling, Rita dropped the tools she was using and picked up her last resort; her defibrillator.

Shock.

The boy's breathing didn't regulate. Rita swore and tried again.

Still no response.

Ratchet decided it was about time he sprang into action doing something other than disinfecting tents. He transformed his right servo into his electromagnetic pulse and gently nudged Rita out of the way. Holding his servo steady, he guided it towards the boy's chest.

Shock.

Both doctors looked on nervously, hoping for the best but expecting the worst.

The boy's breathing slowly became more regular.

"You did it," Rita breathed.

Ratchet nodded, transforming his EMP back into his servo.

"He's stable. I'll leave the rest to you."

Rita nodded, and went back to working on her patient, while everyone around her stopped staring and returned to their own tasks. It was hard not to notice a person cursing non-stop, particularly if they were accompanied by a giant alien robot.

Ratchet exited the tent with some difficulty and headed away to disinfect some more tents.


	5. Mission Waiting

Disclaimer: I do not own the Transfoooormers! I'm in a good mood! School ends on Wednesday!

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><p>On the Ark, everyone was tense and nervous. The presence of a medic was a comforting thing. Knowing that you'd be in safe hands if you got hurt. Unfortunately, that also led to recklessness, but that was just a tiny little by-product. Everyone would be a little worried if any team was sent out. But both their medics sent to fight a deadly disease?<p>

The giant spaceship was also a lot quieter, mostly because the Twins were being quiet. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe could usually be seen romping around noisily, setting up pranks and annoying the wits/inner circuits of anyone or anything around (particularly Ratchet).

But that day, they were almost silent in angst for their medic. Or perhaps it was just the fact that there was nobody there to annoy.

The other twins, Skids and Mudflap, were also contributing to the silence. They just stayed in their shared room all day.

Bumblebee was sitting in the common room, watching TV with the humans.

Jazz was playing cards with Smokescreen, who kept cheating.

Prowl was working.

Bluestreak was talking and telling jokes, trying to lift everyone's spirits when his own were rock-bottom.

But out of everyone, Wheeljack was the worst off. He had to cope with being separated from his bondmate, having to settle with sending the occasional spark pulse as a sign that he was thinking about his Ratchet. He curled up in a corner of his science lab, and this was how Optimus Prime found him a cycle later.

"Wheeljack?" he called as he cautiously approached the engineer.

Wheeljack looked up and met his optics for a second, before burying his helm in his servos again to hide his tears.

Optimus sat down beside his oldest friend's bondmate, placing a servo on his shoulder. The two sat in silence for a few minutes.

"What was the last thing you invented?" asked Optimus, to distract Wheeljack from the topic of Ratchet.

"Ratchet…"

Optimus frowned. This was unusual, Wheeljack not willing to chat about his latest invention. He took a deep breath and started his talk.

"Wheeljack, I know you're worried about Ratchet. We all are. He's an excellent medic, everyone knows that. And I'm sure he's an even better bondmate.

"This mission is meant to be a simple one. The most likely scenario is that Ratchet and Jolt will return perfectly fine in a month. And if you miss him, there's always your bond. You can talk to him whenever you like."

Optimus wasn't sure if Wheeljack was listening, but he continued anyways.

"There is an eighty-eight point nine percent chance that the virus cannot spread to us, Wheeljack. I'm sure Ratchet will be just fine."

Finally, Wheeljack responded.

"You sure?" he asked.

Optimus nodded and stood up.

"Remember, if you ever want to talk, my office door is always open," he told Wheeljack, who nodded and pulled himself to his peds.

The Prime left the room, closed the door behind him and wandered down the hallway.

_I wish I could convince myself… _


	6. Mission in Progress

Disclaimer: I don't own the Transformers. The rest of this story will be up soon, it's all written. I'm just gonna update once a day to keep ya waiting. Oh, I can't resist. Second chapter today.

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><p>Jolt and Ratchet had been in Liberia for almost three weeks. The Ebola condition had stayed practically the same. They'd been trying their best to contain the virus, but there really wasn't much they could do, other than make sure the sick were as comfortable as possible and isolate the patients to prevent the disease from spreading.<p>

The woman they had met on their very first day in Liberia had been discovered, dead, by Jolt two weeks into their mission. Togar hadn't shown up again, although both medics kept an eye out for him.

Ratchet was sipping his daily cube of energon when Wheeljack sent him a spark pulse.

::Hi, Wheeljack::

::Hey Ratch!::

::What are you calling me for::

::Well, I'm off shift, I'm bored, my lab just-::

::WHEELJACK!::

::Uh, yeah. It blew up again. I need one of your tools to fix it, though::

Ratchet frowned. He liked his tools, and he wasn't known for lending them to others. Even his bondmate.

::Which one?::

::Your ratchet::

Ratchet scowled as a small chuckle came from the other end of the bond.

::I hate you::

::I love you too::

Wheeljack sent Ratchet another spark pulse.

Ratchet was amused and irritated by the fact that he never managed to stay cross with his bondmate for more than twenty seconds.

::Yup:: sent Wheeljack, as if he totally knew what Ratchet was thinking.

::Hmmph::

::I love you too. What's wrong with saying that?::

::I have no idea::

::Hey, you know, I worry for you too. It's not as if all I do is blow stuff up::

::And tease me::

For only the third time ever, it was Wheeljack who screamed his bondmate's designation down their bond. And Ratchet knew that when it happened, he was deadly serious.

::Ratchet! How could you just-just be so cold-sparked? I was trying to tell you that I care for you and you just snap back at me like that?::

The engineer sent feelings of hurt and betrayal down the bond to further emphasise his point. Then he blocked his end of the bond, leaving Ratchet in a pit of emptiness.

Ratchet groaned. Who was he? First he'd left the Autobots for some strange country, and now he'd upset his bondmate.

::'Jack?::

No response.

::Wheeljack? I'm sorry, okay? I'm really sorry! WHEELJACK!::

The medic slumped down against a rock, holding his helm in his servos. Suddenly, he was stuck in a dark cavern, his life crashing down around him.

"Sir? Ratchet? Are you okay?"

Jolt. Jolt, his apprentice. Jolt, the only pinprick of light left in his world of eternal midnight.

"Yes. I'm fine. What are you doing?"

Jolt uncertainly stared down at his mentor.

"I was just coming back for some energon, and then you just dropped your cube and collapsed."

Ratchet stood up.

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure-"

"YES!"

"Okay," said Jolt and scampered away from his infuriated mentor to get some energon.

Ratchet entered the gigantic tent that he shared with Jolt and curled up in a corner.

"Wheeljack," he murmured softly, letting his tears streak down his cheek plates. The medic buried his helm in his servos and cried himself into recharge.


	7. Mission Gone Wrong

Disclaimer: I do not own the Transformers. I love you Sunstreaker! Urgh, how did that get there? Funniest part of this entire fanfic, and it wasn't even meant to be there. Thank you reviewers!

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><p>It had been another exhausting day of work for Jolt. Identifying cases, taking care of patients- the jobs never ended. He couldn't've been happier to get back to the cosy blue tent he shared with Ratchet.<p>

Jolt opened the tent flap and gasped.

"R-Ratchet?"

Jolt's spark pulsed with fear at the sight before him.

No…this couldn't be happening…not Ratchet…

His mentor lay on the ground in a pool of his own energon. It was everywhere, flowing from various wounds on his body. He was writhing as if he was in pain. The medic sudden turned over onto one side and purged his tanks. More bright green energon flooded out, splattering on the ground.

Jolt called his mentor's name again. Ratchet's servo raised in response, before flopping down again.

Jolt stared in disbelief. Out of everyone to catch Ebola! He slowly started approaching the infected medic lying on the dusty ground.

"No!" cried Ratchet, wincing in pain. "Don't touch me!"

"I want to help!" exclaimed Jolt, continuing towards his mentor.

Ratchet growled and struggled into a sitting position.

"No, Jolt! Stay away! I'll infect you!"

Jolt stood his ground.

"I don't care! You're my mentor, Ratchet! You mean the world to me! I don't think I can go on living without you!"

"Well you have to! You're the Autobot medic now, Jolt! You have to leave me, and go back to the Ark!"

Then Ratchet's tone softened.

"Jolt, you have to understand this. I have accepted that I will soon be one with the Allspark, and you have to realise that you'd be doing more harm than good by staying here. There's nothing you can do to help me."

Jolt burst into tears, although he stopped walking.

"That's it. Now listen, Jolt. My final order to you, as your mentor, is to leave Liberia, head back to the Ark and stay there as their medic."

There was a moment of hesitation, before Jolt slowly nodded, wiping away his tears.

Ratchet smiled weakly up at him.

"Before you leave, I have to ask two favours from you. Are you listening?"

Jolt nodded.

"One, tell Wheeljack I love him."

Ratchet winced as a speck of dirt landed in a wound on his arm.

"Two, never again, or let anyone else, come back to Liberia."

Ratchet allowed Jolt a minute to absorb the information.

"Got it," muttered Jolt.

A faint smile spread across Ratchet's facial plates. He slowly stood up and picked up a bottle of disinfectant.

"Watch out," he said, before spraying it all over Jolt.

When he was certain every inch of his apprentice was clean, the medic dropped the bottle and collapsed to the ground.

Jolt gazed for the last time ever at his dying mentor. He was lost for words. No word could be powerful enough to express his emotions.

"Good luck," murmured Ratchet in blurred, static-filled tones. To his apprentice, though, it sounded as clear as daylight.

Jolt screamed and took off for the Ark.


	8. Mission Terminated

Disclaimer: I do not own the Transformers. I like green. Double update again, I couldn't resist.

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><p>"Energy signal detected," announced Red Alert.<p>

"Autobot or Decepticon?"

"Autobot."

"Can you identify who it is?"

"It's…oh Primus! It's Jolt!"

Jolt flew quickly, his optics shut tightly. The pleasure of flying was all gone. Now it was just Ratchet, Ebola, Ratchet, Ratchet and RATCHET!

It only took him half an hour to reach the Ark. With a clatter, he landed in a heap on the ground, semi-conscious of the fact that nineteen Autobots were watching.

Jolt lay on the deck for two entire minutes before Optimus cautiously asked, "Jolt?"

Jolt rose to his peds, his optics still offline. He knew what everyone wanted to know. He had to tell them.

"Ratchet," he sobbed. "He-he caught the virus. He told me to go…and then he collapsed…"

The Autobots were silent. Ratchet, their beloved medic, was gone? Forever?

Exclamations of shock, fear and sadness erupted from the crowd as the fact sank in.

Jolt swayed and fell over again, to be caught by Prowl and Jazz.

Sunstreaker and Sideswipe glanced at each other for a long moment, one thought echoing through their twin bond.

::Ratchet!::

A couple of metres away, Skids and Mudflap were engaged in practically the same activity.

Arcee had tears in her optics. Ratchet had been one of her closest friends. He'd been on many missions with her, most noticeable the one when Lockdown kidnapped her and stole Ratchet's electromagnetic pulse. Not to mention the hundred times he'd saved her as medic. And now Ratchet was in trouble, and there was nothing she could do to help.

Optimus Prime was shocked at the news. As leader of the Autobots, he'd witnessed the deaths of many comrades, and felt for them. But Ratchet had been his friend since before the war began, and he knew life would never be the same again. Despite his efforts, he couldn't stop the single tear that streaked down his left cheek plate.

"WAIT!" a voice rang out, above everyone else's murmuring.

All the Autobots spun to stare at Wheeljack, who stood straight with a servo over his spark chamber.

"Ratchet's not dead! I can feel him through our bond!"

The crowd was deadly silent, waiting.

Jolt feebly onlined his optics, which held a glint of hope. It was true that not every Ebola case led to death. Some of the patients recovered perfectly. Maybe his mentor had survived after all.

Wheeljack screamed.

A long, piercing scream. A scream of hopelessness and pain. The scream of one who had lost their only love, and with it, all purpose of living.

"Bond shock," mumbled Jolt.

Some of the Autobots started weeping, as they now knew their medic was truly gone forever. Wheeljack collapsed with a crash on the deck, clutching at his spark chamber.

Jolt came close to following, but something stopped him.

Topspin stood before him, both sympathy and determination on his facial plates. He extended a servo and placed it on Jolt's left shoulder, unaware that it was the gesture Ratchet had always used.

Jolt looked up at his touch.

"You've gotta save Wheeljack," pleaded Topspin.

"He lost Ratchet. I let him down. I let all of you down."

Topspin had no response to that. Springer uncharacteristically gently shoved his friend out of the way and took his place in front of Jolt.

"That's not right, Jolt," he began. "You promised Wheeljack that you'd try your best to keep Ratchet safe. You can't protect anyone from a virus, Jolt. It's a fact.

"And you let him die, yes, but you couldn't've helped him even of you'd stayed. You made the right choice by taking his advice and leaving."

"But he's gone!" Jolt's voice became high-pitched and anguished.

Springer gave small smile, despite the tears in his optics.

"Ratchet's dead, sure, but he'll never be gone. He will have a special place in each of our sparks, and forever and always."

When Jolt's choked sobs grew louder and more desperate, Springer decided that it was time for some comfort.

"I know it's hard to say goodbye, especially to someone who loved and cared for you as much as Ratchet."

The green bot glanced over at Wheeljack, who lay gasping on the deck, before continuing his speech.

"It wasn't your fault. Nobody blames you. And Ratchet never got a proper farewell. That must hurt.

"But anyways, Jolt, you're our medic now. Fill your mentor's shoes, save Wheeljack, and don't let Ratchet down."

The assembled Autobots remained silent through Springer's speech, taking in every word and hoping that Jolt would do the same. When Jolt got back onto his own peds and gestured at Prowl and Jazz to let go, they started cheering both in relief, and because they wanted to encourage their new medic.

Jolt took a shaky step towards his ex-mentor's bondmate. No, Jolt corrected himself. Ratchet would be his teacher and guide forever and always, dead or alive. And nobody or anything could ever change that.

He stopped next to the shuddering form of Wheeljack. It was strange, really. Jolt had let Ratchet die, and now his first patient was Ratchet's bondmate.

"Prime! Sunstreaker! Help me take Wheeljack back to the medbay!"

The two obeyed immediately. Jolt, Optimus and Sunstreaker headed for the medbay with Wheeljack in tow while the rest of the Autobots found themselves in the rec room, quietly mourning the loss of a trusted medic and comrade.

"That was an amazing speech you just delivered, Springer. How did you come up with it?" asked Bluestreak.

Springer shrugged.

"We Wreckers have already lost enough of our troops. I didn't want to add Wheeljack to the list."

Bluestreak was satisfied with the answer, which was unusual. But on the Ark that day, nothing was normal.

"Plus, we need a medic, right?" Springer added. "Oh yeah, and someone to blow stuff up in our faces."

"Same old Springer," muttered Sideswipe, although the ghost of a smile spread across his facial plates.

Jolt, Sunstreaker and Optimus arrived in front of the medbay. The medic looked frightened as he approached the

room that meant the most to him on the entire Ark.

Optimus knew how he was feeling. He placed a reassuring servo on his shoulder and made sure he was ready, before depositing Wheeljack in his arms.

Sunstreaker held on to Wheeljack's legs, as he knew Jolt couldn't carry the engineer's entire weight by himself.

Jolt took a deep breath before running into the medbay so fast Sunstreaker had trouble keeping up.

He carried his mentor's bondmate to the very back of the medbay, where he hooked him up to a life support system. Jolt checked his work once, made sure he had attached it properly and offlined from the emotions swirling through his processor.

A minute later, Sunstreaker walked out of the medbay carrying an unconscious Jolt in his arms. He deposited the medic in Optimus's arms, before walking off to find his brother.

Optimus gazed down at the new Autobot CMO for a minute. He sighed, and headed towards Jolt's quarters.

The Ark was sorrowful and silent for the rest of the day.


	9. Remember

Disclaimer: I do not own the Tarnsformers. So far in my fanfics(posted and not posted) I have killed Ratchet twice, Jolt once, Sunstreaker five times, Sideswipe three times, Blades once and a few others. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed this story, especially Transfan1623 and Answerthecall. You guys spurred me on. Love you!

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><p>Ratchet, Autobot medic, lay shivering on the dusty, dirty ground. He was feeling light-headed and weak after losing so much energon, not to mention the various pains and aches that plagued his body. The medic felt, and knew, that his spark would soon extinguish.<p>

At that moment, dying seemed a very attractive thought. To let go of all the pain and hardships that came with being alive. To just relax, and be free forever.

Death was so tempting…urging him to follow it, to let it embrace it with its warm, inviting darkness.

But Ratchet resisted.

He had accepted the inevitable, he was going to die, but not in this blue shelter that bore witness to all his nightmares.

Ratchet struggled to his peds, screaming with the pain that seared through his body. He couldn't give up. He had to get out of this place.

Stumbling and staggering, the medic finally exited the tent and into the cooling air. With a sigh, he dropped to the ground and landed on his side, so that he had an unobstructed view of the setting sun.

This was meant to be a simple mission- to head to a West African country, help get a virus under control and head back to the Ark, perfectly fine. There weren't even any Decepticons to try and kill him. It was intended to be so easy.

He wasn't supposed to be dying, or Optimus wouldn't have sent him.

There had been an eighty-eight point five percent chance that Ebola couldn't spread to Cybertronians. But facts had failed him. That eighty-eight point five percent hadn't been enough.

Ratchet softly moaned in pain, his hazy optics just managing to catch the view of the flame orange sunset.

This was the same view that had greeted him on his very first day in Liberia. His apprentice had called it beautiful, and he knew his bondmate would've done the same.

Wheeljack.

In his life, which was now destined to be shorter than it should've been, there were only three bots he'd truly loved and cared about. His creators, and Wheeljack. The former were long gone, they'd died when this war had first broken out. The events of that gloomy day were what inspired Ratchet to become a medic in the first place.

The latter, however, was perfectly alive. Although that wouldn't be the case anymore if he became one with the Allspark.

Ratchet had never been a fighter. As a medic, it was his task to stay at base, wherever it was, and save the injured from whatever task they were performing. But, as he lay in the afternoon sunshine, Ratchet found himself fighting a losing battle against the force that claimed all living creatures sooner or later; death.

He wasn't doing it because he wanted to. He was doing it for Wheeljack.

::Wheeljack?:: he called through the bond.

His bondmate didn't respond.

::Wheeljack, come back! I'm so sorry::

Still no response.

::DON'T LEAVE ME! PLEASE! WHEELJACK!::

Ratchet allowed a quiet whimper to escape his vocalizer as he waited nervously for a response.

::I'm here, Ratchet. What?::

Ratchet smiled. Finally, he had gotten through to his bondmate.

::I love you::

::Seriously? You called me just to tell me that?::

::I love you, and Jolt's going back to the Ark. He should be there by now::

::He is. What about you?::

::I'll see you later::

Ratchet grimaced as a wave of searing pain flooded his body. Slowly, he offlined his optics for the last time ever.

Wheeljack seemed to sense his pain.

::Ratchet, are you okay?::

Ratchet groaned and sent his reply.

::Yes, I'm fine::

The afternoon air was filled with the quiet humming of a Cybertronian's engine powering down for the very last time.

::Farewell, Wheeljack.::

And with that, Ratchet set foot on the well-used path leading to the Well of the Allspark.


End file.
